Rotary engine



April 14, 1925. 1,533514V C. L. RAGOT ROTARY ENG-INE Filed Jan. 5l. 19252 Sheets-Sheet 1 April14, 1925.

c. L. RAGoT ROTARY ENGINE Filedaan. 51. 1925 2 Sheets-Shed 3 1 ,Umani r6To allwwm t may conce/m:

' Vtranslated into a rotary one by the relative Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

" STATES NiArent OFFICE.

CHARLES. L. meer, or New rome N. Y.Assre1\iaro-nseor Momonconronamon,

z n conronarron or New Yonx.

mamar Erfenis.

Appiismoii'niea January si, im. p lserial No. eie,o1a.

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. RAGOT, a

citizen of the United States, and resident off New York. in the countyof New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Rotary Engines, ot which the followingv is a specilicatioii.

This invention relates to rotary translat` actuated by the delivery offluid thereto un-` der pressure and. serve asy motors or prime movers,or may be actuated, by outside power and impart pressure or iiiotionto aHuid, thus serving as puiiipsor compressors.

More particularly my invention relates to the general typeofconstruction illustrated in Patent 1,302,709 granted to myself and`Louis F. Ragot on May 6th, 1919. In the construction there illustrated,two sets ot radially disposed cylinders are arrangedv in parallel planeswith an elliptical' track therebetween, and power obtained by `utilizingthe reaction caused by the side pressure of the piston against thecylinder wall due to the radial pressure exerted by the piston againstthe elliptical track at a point where the track i'ecedes li'oi'ii thecenter. The resulting tangential pressure is bodily movement of thecylinders and track. .The main obJect ot my present invention is toenable the pistons to be positively held.

closely adjacent to the outer ellipse. when centrifugal force and fluidpressure are not sutlicient to ykeep them in their outer limitingpositions.

A Ytui-ther object is to secure .this positive `inward and outwardmovement with the minimum nuinberof )arts andin a simple and compactform, with the casings ot' the ininimum'size and the ellipse disposedbetween the rows of cylinders.

A further object is to provide an effective vand rigid connectionbetween the two sets of cylinders, and of such a character that it doesnot interfere with the track andthe iuid distributingl means.

A. furtlierobject is to simplify' the construction by forming at leastione rowA of the cylinders 'integral with, oras a part of, the casing.

AA further object.l is to provide rotary means iiisideot the casingtorleffecting the rotation of the ellipse in relation to thestationary,cylinders vwhich are rigid with the casing. y i

A. .further object is to utilize the central distributer as a supporttor both track inem bers 'and independent ot `the casing.

.AI flirt-lier object is to'provide a. novel y arrangement whereby thetrack A members' andthe distributei are the only rotatable parts of thedevice inside ofthe stationary casing and which' impart motion to orre.- ceivitficm the shattvwhieh extends to the exterior'l A furtherobject is to provide a combinedshaft and distributer which is mountedfor rotation` in the casing and carries all of the rotatable parts. y Y

(.)ther objects and advantages will be pointed out hereinafter; or willvbe apparent from a study of the speciic construct-ion hereinafterdescribed. i

, In the accompanying drawings:

1 isa section at rig-lit angles to the axis of rotationy of a deviceembodying: my invention, said section being taken substantially on theline l-l of Fig. Q.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the lineQ--Q of Fig. li.

Fig. 3 shows another form which my iiivention ymay assume. andv is a.section 'at right angles to the axis of rotation thereof, said sectionbeiiig'taken on the line 3mi-3 o-'F Fig. l, and

4 is a longitudinal section taken on the lined-Jlot Fig. 3.

My improved device as illustrated iii Figs. l and 2 includes a rotor anda stator,`

valt-hou-glgi with comparatively minor changes either of the tworelatively rotatable parts may serve as the stator and the other as therotor.4

The device includes two members l() and 11 inthe forni `of circulardisks, and each presentiiig a plurality ot radially disposed cylinders12. The disks are preferably cast, andthe cylinders of each member areall tormedintegral. The member 10 may be provided with an voutwardlyextending flange; 13 and ,serve as the end Ywall of a casing,y 'thebalance of the casing being formed by a peripheral wall ltrigidlyconnectedto the flange 13, and a second. end wall'lfljconnected to orintegral with the peripheral wall'. The` cylinders of the two membersare arrangediii pairs, thetwo cyl- 'intermediate of its ends and betweenthe.

inders o'i eacli pairbeiiig in. the s`, ai nei4 The two members 10 and11 are rigidly secured together in spaced relationl' plane.

ship by an annularrow'otconnectingriiem bers arranged alternatelywith"ftl`ie cy l` inders. As shown in Fig. 2, the spacing'i s eiiectedby bosses or hubs 17 on the' two` members and through each pairOtabutting hubs is a connecting bolt 16.`

vVithin the cylinders are pistons 18,the two pistons oteach `pair ofcylinders being connected intermediate ot'ftheir en ds by a transversemember 19 which has afroller 20 two members 10 and 11M/The connectingmembers 19ffextend through longitudinal slots in the cylinders andthelpistons are of sucli length as to prevent 4the escape ot the 2 motiveluid medium through said slots.,

AVfacing elliptical surface of the outer inem-,-

.The rollers 20 engagewitha non-circular. track which in thei'ormillustrated includes two members 21 and 22 presentingopposedparallel elliptical surfaces. The inwardly ber 21 encircles the row ofrollers 2O and connecting bolts 16, while thev outwardly facingelliptical surface of the member-22 is inside ot' therow of rollers and.connect-fl ing bolts. The-proportions are such that.

the inside diameter oi thei annular row ot hubs or other spacing`members 17 greater thanthe major axis ot lthe inner ellipse, and

the outside -diameterjot the row of .said

' spacing devices is` less than the minor yaxis oit the outer ellipse.free relative rotation ot the track and the cylinder members, withoutinterference on the part ot-the connecting membersy 41 6,

- The rollers 20 are each of a diameter slightly less than theradialspacing between the inner and outer ellipses, so thatl in normaloperation they engage only with the outer ellipse and during stoppingand wstarting they are held to 'the proper posi;y

tion by the inner ellipse and are-.prevented from falling in toward thecenter or being rapidly shot outvto the outer ellipse-. as the motivetluid is turned ott oron. The .ma-v

:fjor axis of the outer .ellipse is preferably smaller than the diameterof the circle .dei scribed by vthe outer ends ot the cylinder so'thatthe casingis of the smallest ,possible diameter. f

Extending through the two members 10 and 11 is av central passagewithinwhichA is mounted the motive: fluid distributor 23 which isrelativelyrotatable in res-peet `to the cylinder members .10 and 11..lAs shown,-

there is a bushing, member 24 there between;

Each cylinder has afport25y at its linner.

end, serving both-asv an inlet portandas an .exhaust port for thecylinder. .The distributor has suitable passages serving yfor theyintakefand exhaust 'of tlieM-motivevtluid, and each having ports forregistering with Thus therer may -bex there :are` four of thepas'sages26,27, 28 and 29, each having tw'oports, one for registering with the vports 2576i th'ecyl'inders'o'f the member 10,'`

andthe other-for registering with the ports 25 not' cylinders of themember 11. All ot 'these-"ports of the four passages are in .the two.transverse planes of the ports 25, 'whereby' each port communicateswith the 'four passages 26, 27, 28 and 29 in succession., The twodiametrically opposite passages 2 6 and 28 have ports Lcommunica tingwith an annular passage 80 in an yannular boss orzsleeve 31 on thevcasing,'and.the otliei' two ldistributor passages 27 and 29 have portscomiiiunicating with a second annular' passage '32 in'said boss orsleeve. These annularvv passages 3 0 and 32 have ports 33 and 34oneserving as Iairintakey and the otlierfas anlexha'ust `;t0rthe'mot`ivefluid.` L Assuminpgfthe port 33 andpassages 26 and `2Sftobe the intake,it will be apparent that the rotation of kthe distributor and theelliptica'll tracks in a clockwise direction, as

viewedin Fig. 1, will cause iiuid to be ad-x mitted to each, cylinder asthe minor axis of the elliptical vtrack passes` the port ofthatcylinder,l andthe .delivery of motive fluid will 'continue until themajor axis reaches or nearly reaches the port. Thereaft-er the exhaustpassage will communicate with the port during the next quarterrevolutioii. In Fig; 1 the parts are shown withvv the upper and lowercylinders on the minor axis, and with their poi'ts closed. A rotation'ot the distribut'er clockwise will bring the port 25 ot the uppercylindervinto registry withv the passage 27, and the piston will beforced outwardly during the next while. the outer track 2 1 is connectedto a trame or spider including an end plate 35 'secured to' the'distributer by bolts 86, oir

inw-any other suitable manner. This plate hasa sleeve 'portion 37extending across the outer ends ofthe. cylinders in the member 11. andsecured to the out-er member 21v of l the elliptical track.

The rotary parts which include the'dis` tributer and vthe two trackmembers, may be supported in any 'suitablemanner in the casing.'4 Asshown there are provided ball` bearings 38 and 89, and either or bothends 0112...; the.distributer maybe extended to form a-sl'iaft lO fromwhich power may be taken.

The casing itselfy may be rigidly heldv against rotatioi'i in anysuitable manner, as for instauceby means cfa base 41. It will ofcoursebe apparent that .it power is applied to the sha-tt 40 to positivelyturn 'the and permitted to exhaust through thewportl 34 the rotor will'be causedto turnin one A direction. making the port 34; the intake,andthe "port 33 lthe exhaust, rotation in the opposite direction may besecured or the reversing sleeve arrangement sho-wn in Patent1,473,046,issued November, 1923 may be introduced between thefdistributer and the hub portion 31 to obtain reverse rotation lat will.

The ports 25 are illustrated as being so positioned and of such areathat the motive fluid is admitted during each alternate substantiallyfully` quarter revolution `oi the rotor-and permitted to exhaust duringthe intermediate quarter revolutions. It will ofcourse be evidentthat byvarying the proportions and location of the ports the motive fluid maybe admitted during only a part ofthe outgoing piston stroke and theadmitted fluid permitted to expand for the balance of the stroke. .Itwill alsobe apparent that if the apparatus is to be used as an internalcombustion engine operating on the four-cycle principle, the ports maybe arranged as illustrated in Patent No. 1,324,408

`issued to myself and L. F. Ragot.

If it is desired that the weight of the device be reduced thewebs orflanges 42 which connect the annular rows of cylinders of the members l0and l1 may be of skeleton form, that is, apertures elSfInay beformed'therein between. adjacent cylinders, and inside of the row ofconnecting members 16, and aper-v tures or recesses let maybe formed inthe outer edges of the web outside of said connecting' members.

In Figs. 3 and fit there is illustrated a construction which is similarin many respects to that illustrated in Figs. l and 2, but'with theparts so designed that the cylinders form the rotor and the track isrigid with the stationary casing. In thisconstruction the two circulardisks 10L and Il have the same arrangement of cylinders, pistons, rigidconnections and rollers, las :above described.

The outer track member 21a is rigidly secured to the stationary kcasing14a. The inner track member 22 is rigidly secured to or integral withthe distributer 2%. The disk .member 10 has a hub or boss portionsupported byball bearings within a flange 5l onthe casing, and thedistributor has a flange 52 to rigidly connect it to the casing. Thecylinder member 1liL has a hub or boss portion 53 supported bytballbearings within a boss 5ft on the casing. The boss portion 53 may beextended to form the main shaft ll0 of .the apparatus. The distributeristhus stationary and extends into one end of the rotor in alignmentwith the drive shaft 40 which is rigidly secured to' or integral withthe rotor. The passages and'po-rts may be substantiallythe same as thoseillustrated in Figs. l and 2, although due to the fact that thedistributer is stationary the use of annular passages such as 30 andl 32of Fig. 2 is not necessary. a singlepassage 26a with branch passagesleading in opposite directions and `serving the function of both thepassages 26 and 2 8 of Fig. l. c .f

This arrangement of stationaryidistribnter in a pocket in the rotor kmaybe varied in any Vof the ways disclosed in Patent ,l,324;,- 408,particularly if the present Ainvention is to be employed in a fourstroke cycle engine.

The spacing means between the two disk In thisform I have shown` membersl0a and lla are shown as sleeves 17 c on the bolts 16.

Having thus described my invention, .what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: f

l. In combination a pair of parallel cylinders extending radially fromand axially` spaced along an axis` of rotatioinpistons therein,connections between said pistons intermediate of their ends, a trackencircling said axis and presenting inner and outer parallelnon-circular track surfaces and means engaging said tracks forcontrolling the. reciprocation of the piston during the relativerotation of said cylinders andl said track about saidv axis. c

2i. In combination a pair of parallel cylinders extending radially fromand axially spaced along an axis of rotation, a track en circling saidaxis and presenting inner and outer parallel' non-circular surfaces,rigid connections between said cylinders and ex-v tending across betweensaid surfaces,pistons in said cylinders, and members connecting saidvpistons and also extending between said surfaces and adapted to engagetherewith to effect*the reciprocation of the pistons duringl therelative rotation of said cylindersl and said track about said axis.

3. In combination a pair of parallel cylinders extending radially fromand axially spaced along an axis of rotation, two members presentingopposed spaced elliptical surfaces in the same plane/between Isaidcylinders, the major axis of the inner ellipse being shorter than theminor axis of the outer ellipse, a member rigidly connecting saidcylinders and movable ina circular path between said ellipses, the.diameter of the path beinggreater than the major axis of the innerellipse and less than the minor axis of the .outer ellipse, pistonswithin said cylinders, and connections between said-pistons and engagingwith said ellipses to eil'ect the reciprocation of the pistons duringthe relative rotation of the cylinders and ellipses.

4. In combination two membersspaced apart along an axis ofrotation andeach in# clnd'lng a plurality of radially disposed cylf inders,l eachcylinder in one member being parallel to a corresponding cylinder in theother member, an annular row of connecting and spacing devices from onemember to the other, a pair of members presenting opposed other anddisposed between successive cylin-` ders, a pair of track membersbetween said first mentioned members, one facing inwardly and encirclingsaid devices and the other facing outwardly and encircled by saiddevices, Apistons in said cylinders, and means connected to said pistonsand engaging said tracks for effecting the reciprocation of the pistonsduring relative rotation of the first mentioned members and the secondmentioned members.

G. In combination a stator and a rotor, one including two members spacedapart along the axis of rota-tion and each including a plurality ofradially disposed cylinders, and the other including a pair of trackmembers presenting opposed parallel non-circular track faces, pistons insaid cylinders and provided with rollers engaging said track surfaces,and a motive fluid distributer rigid with said track members.

7. In combination a stator and a rotor, one including two members spacedapart along the axis of rotation and each including a kplurality ofradially disposed cylinders, and the other including a pair of trackmembers presenting opposed parallel noncircular track faces, pistons insaid cylinders and provided with means engaging said. track surfaces,and a casing rigidly connected to and encircling said cylinders andforming a part of the stator.

8. In combination a pair of parallel cylinders extending radially fromand axially spaced along an axis of rotation, pistons therein,connections between said pistons intermediate of their ends, a.rotatable track encircling said axis and Vpresentin, r inner and outerparallel non-circular track surfaces and means engagingsaid tracks foreffecting the reciprocation of the piston during the rotation of saidtrack about said axis.

9. In combination two members spaced apart along an axis of rotation`and each including a plurality of radially disposed cylindersan annularrow of connecting and spacing devices from one member to the other anddisposed between successivek cylinders, a pair of rigidly connected'rotatable track :numbers between said first i'nentioned members, onefacing inwardly and encircling said devices and the other facingoutwardly and encircled by said devices, pistons in said cylinders, andmeans connected to said pistons and engaging said tracks for effectingthe reciproca/tion of the pistons during rotation of the trackmembeis.

10'. In combination two members spaced apart along an axis of rotationand each including a plurality of radially disposed cylinders, an.annular row of connecting an spacing devices from one member to theother and disposed between successive cylinders, a pair of rigidlyconnected rotatable track members between said first mentioned members,one facingv inwardly and encircling said devices a-nd the other facingoutwardly and encircled by said devices, pistons in said cylinders,.means connected to said pistons and engagimgT said tracks for effectingthe reciprocation of the pistons during rotation of the track members,and a stationary casing enclosing said parts and independent of theconnections between said trac-k members.

Il. In combination a stator including a easing and two sets of axiallyspaced radially disposed cylinders and a rotor including a pair of trackmembers presenting opposed parallel non-circular track faces in the sameradial plane between said'sets of cylinders, and a motive fluiddistributer rigid with said track members, said stator having pistons inthe cylinders and parts connected to said pistons in engaging said trackmembers. 1Q. In combinationtwo members spaced apart along an axis ofrotation and each including a plurality of radially disposed cylinders,pistons therein, a centraly disposed motive fluid distributer, a pair oftrack members,- one facing outwardly and the other facing inwardlybetween said first mentioned members, means engaging said track membersfor effecting reciprocation of said pistons and means rigidlyconnectingthe last mentioned track member to one end of saiddistributer, the first mentioned track member being connected to saiddistributer intermediate of the ends of the latter.

A. device constructed, as set forth in claim #12, and in which there isa station.- ary casing independent of the connections between the trackmembers and the distributer. y

la., In combination two members spaced apart along an axis of rotationand each including a plurality of radially disposed cylinders, pistonstherein, a centrally disposed motive fluid dist-ribnter, a pair of trackmembers between said first mentioned members and disposed in the sameplane, one facing outwardly and the other facing inwardly, meansengaging said track members for effecting reciprocation of Said pistonsa stationary casing and connections between the inwardly facing trackmember and the distrbuter.

15. A device constructed, as set forth in claim #14, in which theconnections between the track member and the distributer include a partextending in l`an axial direction at the outer ends of one row ofcylinders and thence radially alongside said cylinders.

16. A device, as set forth in claim #14, in which the stationary casingis in part formed ntegral with one of the first mentioned members.

17. In combination a. combined shaft and motive fluid distributer, anoutwardly facing track member rigid therewith and disposed intermediateof' the ends thereof, a second. track member in the same plane andencircling the first mentioned track mem ber and having an inwardlyfacing track surface, means for connecting the second mentionedtrackmember to said distributer adjacent to one end of the latter,l two setsof radially disposed cylinders disposed upon opposite sides of saidtrack members, rigid connections between said sets of cylinders, pistonsin said cylinders, and means connected to said pistons for engaging saidtrack members.

. of the ends thereof, a pair of cylinder members on opposite sides ofsaid track members, and means extending between said track members andrigidly connecting said cylinder members.

20. In combination a casing, an annular lrow of radially disposedcylinders yintegral therewith, said casing having a hub portion providedwith annular passages therein, a motive Huid distributer rotatablymounted in said casing and having passages communieating with said firstmentioned passages and having' ports for communication with saidcylinders, pistons in said cylinders, a track rigidly connected to saiddistributer and rotatable therewith, and means engaging said pistons andsaid track for reciprocating the pistons during the rotation of thetrack.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this27th day of January. A. D. 1923. i

CHAS. L. RAGOT.

